VWL Groupies & Lovers Thread (Special Collectors Edition 2.0) updated 21 June 2023

[Corinne]

Happy Fathers Day to all the Groupie Dads!

 

[Granny]

Happy Father's Day boys!

 

[twinklebug]

Happy Father's Day to our dads, and single moms too!

 

[sleepydog25]

Happy Fathers' Day, Groupies!

We're back from HHI, and this trip was a little different than our past vacations. We spent a great deal of time looking at homes and not much doing vacation-y things. We only got to the beach twice. We didn't hit the pool (mostly due to no one in there wearing masks). We didn't play any lawn games. We didn't crab (you have to get the gear from the window--no CMs helping you). We didn't eat out as much. We did bike a few times. And we shopped at Tanger Center once. We had Mickey bars. Our last two nights we stayed just across the bridge at Harbourside I (just above Scott's Seafood Market).

Despite some minor issues in our room, I have to say that Disney's resort shone like a beacon compared to the dingy, dark 1BR suite we had at Harbourside. We won't go back there. Mask wear at DHHIR was mostly good, but there are always scofflaws, and I just don't understand why. What's so awful about keeping a mask on while you're walking about the grounds? The rest of HHI doesn't require them (with a few exceptions), so walk over the bridge and take off your mask if it bothers you. Or go to the pool. Or stay in your room.

Anyway, the fresh seafood is still marvelous. The beach is still gorgeous at sunrise, the inlet side still amazing at sunset. All the things we like about HHI were on display. . .and some of the things we didn't. I'll insert a picture here to show the sunrise this morning, though I know it will be flipped on its side. We'll go back. . .

 

[Granny]

That's a beautiful picture, Sleepy. Thanks for sharing...





...and it's weird. I was able to rotate it but for some reason when I posted it, it shrank? In any event, it's a wonderful scene.

 

[sleepydog25]

That's a beautiful picture, Sleepy. Thanks for sharing...

View attachment 503127



...and it's weird. I was able to rotate it but for some reason when I posted it, it shrank? In any event, it's a wonderful scene.

Thanks for rotating it! Hmmm. . .Rotator Tom. Sounds a bit like a Marvel superhero.

 

[bernina]

My morning was spent trying to launch into orbit and avoiding the new pink castle to secure park reservations so I apologize if this has already been asked.

Does anyone know if boat transportation is (will be?) running at Wilderness? We're staying BRV mid July.

Thanks!!

 

[sleepydog25]

My morning was spent trying to launch into orbit and avoiding the new pink castle to secure park reservations so I apologize if this has already been asked.

Does anyone know if boat transportation is (will be?) running at Wilderness? We're staying BRV mid July.

Thanks!!

Welcome, bernina! Welcome to the Groupies! While I'm at it, welcome to anyone else who has posted recently that I might have missed. I don't pay attention to these things as much as I used to. We're glad you dropped by.

I can't 100% guarantee my answer to your question is correct, but my guess is that, yes, the boat will run. First, they can't expect everyone to drive to Disney, so they'll have to run buses. And if they run buses, logic dictates that boats would also operate since they would take the strain off buses and you can perhaps better social distance on a boat. Now, the schedule may change, i.e., they might run less frequently, but I believe they'll run. I don't know that Disney has made that announcement yet. Perhaps someone on her more in the know will, well, know.

 

[sleepydog25]

Afternoon, Groupies!

Lots of buzz (Lightyear) about Disney beginning to open up, park reservations, tickets, et. al. I, for one, am thankful we don't have any trips the rest of this year and none planned for next. . .although Luv did ask me this morning as I was crawling out of bed thus before my coffee, "do you think we should try to get something for this Christmas?" Uh, no.

To all those who are trying to get there, or attempting to edit your plans, may the Force be with you (and a fifth of some distilled beverage). Anyway, if anyone has new plans or changed ones or canceled ones, just PM me and I'll change Page 1. Yes. . .we do. . .have. . .a Page. . .1. . .still. . .pretty sure. . .

 

[Corinne]

My morning was spent trying to launch into orbit and avoiding the new pink castle to secure park reservations so I apologize if this has already been asked.

Does anyone know if boat transportation is (will be?) running at Wilderness? We're staying BRV mid July.

Thanks!!

Right now only mode of transportation open are the busses. Of course, the parks are not open yet, so that remains to be seen. If social distancing is required on boats and busses they will not be able to accommodate many guests on the open air boats from the Lodge.

 

[Corinne]

Sleepy, your get away sounds lovely. I am in full agreement with you on the wearing of masks. We would love to get to HHI one day! Did you find any properties you were especially fond of?

 

[sleepydog25]

Sleepy, your get away sounds lovely. I am in full agreement with you on the wearing of masks. We would love to get to HHI one day! Did you find any properties you were especially fond of?

It was fun, though it was more of a fact-finding trip than a laid back, spend time on the beach or at the pool time. Of course, the virus had a little to do with that. You FedEx (absolutely, positively) must get there. It's the antithetical Disney. Many first-timers wonder if they'll enjoy it given there are no parks, no ADRs, no rides. They soon discover that vacations to HHI are more of what they remember when they were kids--just letting the stress melt off and enjoying time together that doesn't involve running from queue to queue or hoping to get that 6 p.m. slot at O'Hana's. Just go.

And, actually, Corinne, we did! A few, in fact. Our fingers are in the water. We found an agent we like and who lives in the area we want. We've told ourselves to be patient since 3-4 houses we liked before leaving to travel there were put under contract in the interim. So, though we found three we liked a lot, we know none of them may be available tomorrow. Still, we've begun to de-junk our house (dumpster being delivered later this week), hired a realtor to sell our house, and contacted USAA about getting pre-approved for a loan. We shall see. . .

 

[bluecastle]

Afternoon, Groupies!

Lots of buzz (Lightyear) about Disney beginning to open up, park reservations, tickets, et. al. I, for one, am thankful we don't have any trips the rest of this year and none planned for next. . .although Luv did ask me this morning as I was crawling out of bed thus before my coffee, "do you think we should try to get something for this Christmas?" Uh, no.

To all those who are trying to get there, or attempting to edit your plans, may the Force be with you (and a fifth of some distilled beverage). Anyway, if anyone has new plans or changed ones or canceled ones, just PM me and I'll change Page 1. Yes. . .we do. . .have. . .a Page. . .1. . .still. . .pretty sure. . .

I feel the same about not being in a rush to go back. And I felt that even before COVID, but now I'm thinking that if things aren't the way we have envisioned our granddaughter's first trip to be, 2022 may become 2023. ( but my daughter will not want to wait, plus my DGD will not be free) We need a long time to save up because we will be paying for everything for all 5 of us, except for souvenirs.
I think returning from a WDW trip to your home in HHI is going to be so wonderful. Good luck with house hunting!

 

[Corinne]

And, actually, Corinne, we did! A few, in fact. Our fingers are in the water. We found an agent we like and who lives in the area we want. We've told ourselves to be patient since 3-4 houses we liked before leaving to travel there were put under contract in the interim. So, though we found three we liked a lot, we know none of them may be available tomorrow. Still, we've begun to de-junk our house (dumpster being delivered later this week), hired a realtor to sell our house, and contacted USAA about getting pre-approved for a loan. We shall see. . .

Wow you ARE serious! Good for you! It sounds like a hot market, is it a sellers market in your area as well? How exciting!

Dana and I started looking last fall in Sarasota and found the area we want. We submitted an offer/negotiated/agreement on a unit , but in the process got “cold feet” for lack of a better term. It just didn’t feel 100% right. Now nothing has really come on the market but i am hopeful!

I look forward to hearing about your journey!

 

[sleepydog25]

Wow you ARE serious! Good for you! It sounds like a hot market, is it a sellers market in your area as well? How exciting!

Dana and I started looking last fall in Sarasota and found the area we want. We submitted an offer/negotiated/agreement on a unit , but in the process got “cold feet” for lack of a better term. It just didn’t feel 100% right. Now nothing has really come on the market but i am hopeful!

I look forward to hearing about your journey!

Yes, we aren't getting any younger, and sometimes the problem with life is one keeps putting things off waiting for the exact time to act, not realizing that the only time we have allotted is now. We've been talking about this for over two years and barely budged on waiting and planning. We realized that we likely wouldn't be in any better position to make a move than we are in now, so we (and be "we" I mostly mean "me") realized that waiting any longer was silly. Now, we may not be able to sell our house, or be able to find a house we want right away, and we might have to live in a rental for a time. So, we might still be here come Christmas. Or spring. But, we're preparing to strike when the stars align.

Here's a shot of one of the properties we looked at. Sorry that it's flipped, but hopefully, you get the idea.


Well, Groupies, there has been a lot of action on the Boards of late, mostly talking about HHI and WDW re-opening. HHI and VB are easy compared to the whole WDW imbroglio. What was already a complicated, logistical headache under normal conditions just got exponentially harder. For those of you who are attempting to navigate the waters of re-entering WDW in the coming months, my sincere best wishes to you. We're going to wait at least another year, maybe longer.

Have a grand day, Groupies! I leave you with a shot of Mickey waffles from Tide Me Over. . .

 

[twinklebug]

I love your thinking @sleepydog25.

A bit of advice I'm passing along from my dad who bought second building back on Myrtle beach back in the 1990s: talk to insurance companies as you look into waterfront properties. Just good to know who will insure what and at what rate. Their rates skyrocketed after Hugo came through and he decided to sell and bought a home in Florida, up on a hill to ensure he'd not be hit with a flood.

Good luck in your endevors! Can we all stop by when you relocate?

 

[Corinne]

That’s still pretty exciting, Sleepy. We are still trying to figure out where we want to be in the summer and fall, and not ready to sell our house yet. The loose “plan” would be to downsize here, and have a condo in FL.

We are also not planning on WDW any time soon....maybe next year. I honestly do not blame the CM’s expressing concerns and asking for the opening to be postponed. DL has delayed their opening,

 

[DVC Jen]

That’s still pretty exciting, Sleepy. We are still trying to figure out where we want to be in the summer and fall, and not ready to sell our house yet. The loose “plan” would be to downsize here, and have a condo in FL.

We are also not planning on WDW any time soon....maybe next year. I honestly do not blame the CM’s expressing concerns and asking for the opening to be postponed. DL has delayed their opening,

I agree with you Corinne. I think opening up now is a horrible idea with how cases are just blowing up in Florida (and here in Texas). We are staying hunkered down at home. We go out for curbside pickup of grocery orders. I go to a post office satillite office that rarely has anyone but me in there to mail my orders out. Dog food and everything else is delivered. Always wearing a mask and social distancing. My blood pressure is high again so I have been put back on meds. Even though I am 54 I am in a high risk category with the blood pressure issue as well as a congenital heart defect. I will be making a reservation for next summer over the 4th of July and my birthday. 2 nights at POR (with a surprise for our girls to Universal if things pan out the way we are hoping). Then 10 nights home at BRV and another 4 nights at our second home - Vero. I am crossing my fingers, hoping and praying a vaccine is available by then and things are able to return to at least more normal than they are now. Talked to my doc about it a few weeks ago and she feels we will have a vaccine by then and it is safe to plan for next summer. I hope she is right. She had a big family WDW trip for 20 cancelled in April, and she is anxious to get back there as well.

 

[TCRAIG]

Stay safe everyone! We switched around our plans and are spending a long weekend with our daughter and her husband and our GrandGirls at HHI In Sept - then just Jerry and me at WLV for 5 nights from there...we originally had it the other way around but with Fla cases up - we figured it would be safer for them.

 

[sleepydog25]

Morning, Groupies! We've been a rather reticent bunch the past week as I noticed that the first four posts on this page were from Father's Day. I sincerely hope all is well as can be with each Groupie, and that each of you is coping with what is turning into one of the most unsettled years in my lifetime. I recently read a humorous post where someone said he always wondered what it would be like to live during the Spanish Flu, Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Civil Rights movement and more, but not all at once. I couldn't help but laugh. . .laughter is a good thing, even in the face of trying times.

That's what I love about coming to this spot, this home. I've only met a handful of you, but I consider you family--a large extended family, but still family. I know when I come here that I'll find humor, comfort, strength, and no recriminations. I'm especially reminded of this aspect when I visit another thread and see some of the acrimony that spills into it. So, to my Groupies, thank you for being a constant reminder of what's important in this world.

In other Disney-related news, I've only read a couple of small inputs from folks staying at our beloved Lodge, and they've reported it's quiet. I'll bet! If you hear of any news, please share on our thread. In fact, I'd love to know how Groupies are currently doing. A few above this post have chimed in, and it was good to hear from them, so let's not be strangers. I'll leave the porch light on. . .